ChartSpot: December 2006

Last week, industry-research group NPD Funworld released the top-selling games for 2006. The third-best finisher for the year was Gears of War, which sold 1.8 million copies since its release on November 9. Just less than half of those games were sold in December, making the Xbox 360 shooter--and GameSpot 2006 Game of the Year--the month's most popular game.

Another 360 game, Activision's Call of Duty 3, also cracked the top 10 in December, landing at number eight. The PlayStation 2 version of the Treyarch-developed World War II shooter landed in 10th place, eight places behind another Activision game, Guitar Hero II for the PS2. (An Xbox 360 version of the game is due in March.)

In third was Electronic Arts' perennial best-seller Madden NFL, also for the PS2. However, that platform's usual domination of the monthly console charts was broken in December. The top 10 for the month was an eclectic bunch, with the GameCube Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess landing in fourth, just ahead of the Wii version. Behind them was WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 for the PS2 in sixth and the DS-exclusive New Super Mario Bros. in seventh. Another DS title, Yoshi's Island 2, came in ninth.

No games for the PlayStation 3, which was released on November 19th, made NPD's console top 10. Nor did any PS3 titles make the top 20, likely due in part to many purchasers intent on reselling the console, not buying games. The new console's small installed base was also a factor; even the rival Wii console only had one title in the top 20, the aforementioned Twilight Princess, while the Xbox 360 had four. The most popular game for Sony's new console was Resistance: Fall of Man, which is also the platform's best-reviewed.

The Sims 2 franchise overran the PC charts this past holiday season. The Sims 2: Pets was the top game for the month, followed by the Sims 2 (third), The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff (fifth), The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff (seventh), The Sims 2 Open For Business (12th), The Sims 2 Holiday Edition (13th), and The Sims 2 Nightlife (18th). The ever-popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft finished second in December, with Medieval II: Total War (fourth), Flight Simulator X Deluxe (sixth), and Battlefield 2142 (eighth) also finishing strong.

ALL CONSOLES
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Gears of War	360	Microsoft	Nov-06	$61
7	2	Guitar Hero II	PS2	Activision	Nov-06	$49
4	3	Madden NFL 07	PS2	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$55
**	4	Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	GC	Nintendo	Nov-06	$79
3	5	Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	WII	Nintendo	Nov-06	$50
6	6	WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007	PS2	THQ	Nov-06	$59
17	7	New Super Mario Bros.	DS	Nintendo	May-06	$39
5	8	Call of Duty 3	360	Activision	Nov-06	$40
19	9	Yoshi's Island 2	DS	Nintendo	Nov-06	$30
**	10	Call of Duty 3	PS2	Activision	Nov-06	$31
2	11	Final Fantasy XII	PS2	Square Enix Inc	Nov-06	$39
9	12	Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends	DS	Nintendo	Oct-06	$40
**	13	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas	360	Ubisoft	Nov-06	$40
**	14	Brain Age: Train Your Brain	DS	Nintendo	Apr-06	$40
**	15	Need For Speed: Carbon	PS2	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$39
8	16	Thrillville	PS2	Lucasarts	Nov-06	$39
**	17	Tony Hawk's Project 8	PS2	Activision	Nov-06	$43
**	18	Madden NFL 07	360	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$57
**	19	NBA Live 07	PS2	Electronic Arts	Sep-06	$30
**	20	Mario Kart	DS	Nintendo	Nov-05	$35

PC
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Average Price
2	1	The Sims 2 Pets	Electronic Arts	$28
3	2	World of Warcraft	Vivendi	$22
8	3	The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	$39
4	4	Medieval II: Total War	Sega	$47
12	5	The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff	Electronic Arts	$18
7	6	Flight Simulator X Deluxe	Microsoft	$65
11	7	The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff	Electronic Arts	$16
5	8	Battlefield 2142	Electronic Arts	$44
**	9	Deal or No Deal	Global Star Software (Take 2)	$17
**	10	Cars Radiator Springs Adventures	THQ	$18
6	11	Flight Simulator X	Microsoft	$48
**	12	The Sims 2 Open For Business	Electronic Arts	$29
**	13	The Sims 2 Holiday Edition	Electronic Arts	$38
13	14	Age of Empires III: WarChiefs	Microsoft	$29
19	15	Age of Empires III	Microsoft	$48
14	16	Paws & Claws Pet Vet	Valusoft (THQ)	$18
**	17	Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II: Rise of The Witch-King	Electronic Arts	$29
**	18	The Sims 2 Nightlife	Electronic Arts	$30
1	19	Neverwinter Nights 2	Atari	$48
**	20	Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection	Microsoft	$20

PLAYSTATION 2
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
2	1	Guitar Hero 2	Activision	Nov-06	$79
4	2	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$44
3	3	WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007	THQ	Nov-06	$49
**	4	Call of Duty 3	Activision	Nov-06	$41
1	5	Final Fantasy XII	Square Enix Inc	Nov-06	$49
5	6	Need For Speed: Carbon	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$45
**	7	Thrillville	Lucasarts	Nov-06	$39
**	8	Tony Hawk's Project 8	Activision	Nov-06	$43
**	9	NBA Live 07	Electronic Arts	Sep-06	$30
1	10	Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	Lucasarts	Sep-06	$40

PLAYSTATION 3
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Resistance: Fall of Man	Sony Computer Ent.	Nov-06	$60
2	2	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$60
6	3	Need For Speed: Carbon	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$57
3	4	Call of Duty 3	Activision	Nov-06	$60
**	5	Fight Night Round 3	Electronic Arts	Dec-06	$60
4	6	Marvel: Ultimate Alliance	Activision	Nov-06	$56
9	7	NBA 07	Sony Computer Ent.	Nov-06	$60
7	8	Tony Hawk's Project 8	Activision	Nov-06	$57
10	9	Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$60
8	10	NBA 2K7	Take-Two Interactive	Nov-06	$60

XBOX
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
2	1	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$39
6	2	Halo 2	Microsoft	Nov-04	$29
4	3	Call of Duty 3	Activision	Nov-06	$41
1	4	Need For Speed: Carbon	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$39
**	5	Thrillville	Lucasarts	Nov-06	$39
**	6	Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	Lucasarts	Sep-06	$40
7	7	NBA Live 07	Electronic Arts	Sep-06	$30
**	8	Tony Hawk's Project 8	Activision	Nov-06	$43
5	9	Scarface: The World Is Yours	Vivendi	Oct-06	$46
**	10	Cars	THQ	Jun-06	$29

XBOX 360
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Gears of War	Microsoft	Nov-06	$61
2	2	Call of Duty 3	Activision	Nov-06	$57
6	3	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas	Ubisoft	Nov-06	$58
10	4	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$59
4	5	Need For Speed: Carbon	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$62
8	6	Tony Hawk's Project 8	Activision	Nov-06	$57
5	7	WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007	THQ	Nov-06	$58
**	8	Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter	Ubisoft	Mar-06	$26
9	9	Marvel: Ultimate Alliance	Activision	Oct-06	$55
**	10	NBA Live 07	Electronic Arts	Sep-06	$40

WII
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	Nintendo	Nov-06	$49
6	2	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$50
4	3	Rayman Raving Rabbids	Ubisoft	Nov-06	$50
2	4	Red Steel	Ubisoft	Nov-06	$50
3	5	Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz	Sega	Nov-06	$49
8	6	Marvel: Ultimate Alliance	Activision	Nov-06	$49
5	7	Call of Duty 3	Activision	Nov-06	$50
9	8	Excite Truck	Nintendo	Nov-06	$50
7	9	Trauma Center: Second Opinion	Atlus	Nov-06	$50
**	10	Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam	Activision	Nov-06	$50

GAMECUBE
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
**	1	Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	Nintendo	Nov-06	$48
1	2	Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	Lucasarts	Sep-06	$40
5	3	Cars	THQ	Jun-06	$29
6	4	Lego Star Wars	Eidos	Oct-05	$19
10	5	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	Nintendo	Nov-03	$30
4	6	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$39
**	7	Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat	Nintendo	Mar-05	$20
9	8	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	Nintendo	Oct-04	$19
**	9	Super Smash Bros. Melee	Nintendo	Dec-01	$30
7	10	Super Mario Strikers	Nintendo	Dec-05	$30

GAME BOY ADVANCE
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
3	1	Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team	Nintendo	Sep-06	$31
6	2	Cars	THQ	Jun-06	$28
2	3	Pokemon FireRed (with Adaptor)	Nintendo	Sep-04	$20
9	4	Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2	Nintendo	Feb-02	$21
**	5	Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge/World Race	Destination Software Inc.	Jun-06	$16
5	6	Pokemon LeafGreen (with Adaptor)	Nintendo	Sep-04	$20
**	7	Mario Kart Super Circuit	Nintendo	Aug-01	$21
**	8	Pokemon Emerald	Nintendo	Apr-05	$35
**	9	Super Mario Advance	Nintendo	Jun-01	$20
**	10	Star Wars: Flight of The Falcon	THQ	Nov-03	$15

DS
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
4	1	New Super Mario Bros	Nintendo	May-06	$33
5	2	Yoshi's Island 2	Nintendo	Nov-06	$30
1	3	Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends	Nintendo	Oct-06	$30
7	4	Brain Age: Train Your Brain	Nintendo	Apr-06	$20
**	5	Mario Kart	Nintendo	Nov-05	$35
2	6	Pokemon Ranger	Nintendo	Nov-06	$31
6	7	Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team	Nintendo	Sep-06	$30
**	8	Hannah Montana	Buena Vista Games	Oct-06	$28
**	9	Big Brain Academy	Nintendo	Jun-06	$20
**	10	Kirby Squeak Squad	Nintendo	Dec-06	$31

PSP
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
2	1	Madden NFL 07	Electronic Arts	Aug-06	$39
4	2	SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Fire	Sony Computer Ent.	Nov-06	$39
1	3	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories	Take 2 Interactive	Nov-06	$46
3	4	Need For Speed Carbon: Own The City	Electronic Arts	Nov-06	$40
10	5	Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	Take 2 Interactive	Oct-05	$19
**	6	Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops	Konami Digital Ent.	Dec-06	$40
**	7	WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007	THQ	Dec-06	$50
**	8	NBA Live 07	Electronic Arts	Sep-06	$39
**	9	Need Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$20
**	10	Sonic Rivals	Sega	Nov-06	$39